A Georgia man has been extradited to the state to face a felony charge for his alleged involvement in defrauding a Connecticut company out of more than $100,000.
Daniel Boenke, 70, of Gainsville, Georgia, was extradited by detectives with the Connecticut State Police Western District Major Crime Squad last Wednesday and arrested on a warrant charging him with one count of first-degree larceny, according to state police.
Boenke was held in custody and faced a judge on Thursday in Derby Superior Court, state police said. According to court records, he remains held on $125,000 bond and is due back in court on March 10. He did not enter a plea, records show.
According to the arrest warrant affidavit, investigators believe Boenke was involved in a fraud scheme that targeted Walz & Krenzer in Oxford, a company that engineers watertight closures used in the marine industry. The vice president and part owner of the company reported being the victim of fraud last September after an email purporting to be from a vendor the company uses allegedly indicated the vendor would be changing its banking information, the warrant affidavit said.
The email allegedly requested Walz & Krenzer update its payment information with a new bank account and indicated it would only be accepting ACH or wire transfers, according to the warrant affidavit. After the company paid its bill, the VP was notified by Webster Bank that the $103,000 transaction was flagged as “suspicious,” the warrant affidavit said.
The VP then allegedly contacted the vendor and was notified that the email had been fraudulent, according to the warrant affidavit. After reviewing the email, it was allegedly discovered that the email address where it came from was spoofed to look like it came from the vendor but was off by a single character.
The Connecticut company was reimbursed $1,062 from the bank and reported to police that the rest was deemed a loss.
In October, state police obtained a search and seizure warrant for the bank account where the money transfer was sent. It was found to be registered to “Daniel the Craftsman, LLC” and was allegedly linked to Boenke, the warrant affidavit said. An examination of the account allegedly found that it did not have more than $110 in it prior to the transaction, the warrant affidavit said.
After the transfer, the funds were allegedly withdrawn and used through checks and debit transactions, according to the warrant affidavit. Investigators said they believed it was “highly likely” that Boenke knew about the fraudulent deposit and “intentionally withdrew the funds systematically to conceal fraudulent activity,” the warrant affidavit said.
State police also examined Boenke’s cell phone records, which allegedly showed that he was in “the approximate locations” when the withdrawals and transactions occurred, the warrant affidavit said. The phone records also allegedly showed that the device was used to communicate with a phone number associated with a bitcoin ATM, which investigators said can be a sign of “money laundering,” according to the warrant affidavit.
State police investigators believe Boenke worked with others during the scam and “was instructed” to deposit large sums of cash withdrawals to a separate account through Bitcoin ATMs, the warrant affidavit said.
The warrant for Boenke’s arrest was signed by a judge in December. It was not immediately clear if others are expected to be charged.